"What makes us so bitter against people who outwit us is that they think themselves cleverer than we are."

Ashu and her best friend G were asking each other some riddles and playing in the car. After a few rounds of this, G asks Ashu.

G: Im going to ask you a tricky riddle now, Ashu. Are you smart?

Ashu: Yes.

G: Ok. Are you very, very smart?

Ashu: hmm.... not really.

I dont know whether to be happy or sad! But I can say one thing. She is EXACTLY like her dad! These are the kinds of people who will not give us even an ounce of happiness when we win against them in any game/sport/debate/argument! Do you come across these annoying kinds? Theres no satisfaction in beating them in any game. Whats the whole point of playing, I ask? Take me, for example. Sis and I have never EVER finished a game of chess in all our life because every time she even came close to taking my queen, let alone the king, the board with all the pieces will magically fling themselves to the floor! There have been innumerable card games which have ended with me or my mom in tears. My sis or my dad swearing that they will never ever play with us ever again. And none of us are graceful winners either! Its a miracle how we did nt end up killing each other! But Ashu and Hd are the type of paavam characters with whom you dont mind losing. You even let them win sometimes because they are so paavam! Not that they are nt competitive but theres something in their demeanour. So graceful and sportive and I guess one has to be born with it and can never be learnt. I ve perfected the art of faking though. After 33 years and 2 kids, Im in a stage where I dont throw public tantrums! I said public!

Something tells me Antu is all me! And the thought terrifies me! *gulp*

What is Antu upto?

Antu is growing up so fast that it hurts me unbearably. I don't know if its with the second borns but with Ashu I was always looking forward to the next stage. May be now that I know whats coming, it pains me whenever Antu reaches a new milestone. Crazy, I know! A month ago, Hd was short listing play schools for Antu and I glared at him. "She so ready, ok?", he said. "But what about me? Im not ready to send her. Ever", I replied. "The thought of sending her to school feels like someone is stabbing at my heart with a knife and then twisting it!", I added. He sighed, shook his head and gave up. Shes almost 2 1/2 now and I know its a good idea to send her from Jan. But it breaks my heart. However weird that might sound, it truly does. Yesterday I took her to a new play school for a tour and she just went in, took her shoes and jacket off and went straight to the play room and started playing. As if she has been coming here every day all her life! She even found a friend. The boy is a friends son and she has seen him a few times before. And an hour later, when I was ready to leave after talking to the caregivers, I had to go and find her and she refused to come! So my brain tells me that shes so ready but my stupid heart is in denial. Hoping 2011 will knock some sense into me!

I was watching TV one day and there was this commercial for some charity. A picture of a starving, sick African baby. All skins and bones and lying on the ground. Looking straight into the camera with painful eyes. Since I had seen this ad many times before, I quickly turned my eyes away from the TV with a bit of a guilt. And I heard Antu say so cheerfully and loudly, "Look Amma. A baby!" And she had such genuine happiness in her face and was thrilled to see a fellow baby on screen. I was captivated by the childish innocence. When do we start losing it?

When we ask the dreaded question, "Whom do you like more? Amma or Appa?", she does nt waste a moment before answering "Appa!" The ungrateful brat! 5 years and counting and Ashu has never ever said anything but "both" to this question. Karma, surely! I remember I used to say "only Appa" when I was a kid. Actually, I think I still do! :)

And another day she brought a drawing to me and said "Lookit amma!" I think she was tired of always seeing her sister bring me drawings to show and get all the compliments. So I oohed and aahed at the drawing and asked her, "Who did this, Antu?" and she immediately answered, "Ashu did it." My poor little kid! Im sure she ll get there one day!

Antu is such a happy child with a smile pasted in her face all the time. She has to reach out and touch babies when she sees them. She has to go sit near kids in parks. She comes to us for random hugs. Shes delighted to see Ashu after school. Its just impossible to be mad at her for more than 2 seconds because she ll totally charm your pants off with the most sweetest "sorry"!

Needless to say, she has her dad neatly wrapped around her little finger. The other day I had a talk with Hd on how hes letting her get away with anything and that he has to be more stern. And his reply, "But she's a baby. She's not even three!" This is the same guy who gave time outs to Ashu when she was 2 years old, mind you!

Talking about time outs, Ashu hates this word even now and takes it as a huge insult if I say the T word. But Antu? Gives herself time out happily and goes and sits in a corner for 2 mins, apologizes, gives me a hug and walks away content as if she has taught me a lesson!! What the hell!

She uses her left hand most of the times and Im eagerly waiting to see if she's going to be left handed. Im a secret admirer of lefties. :)

Antu started eating chocolates very recently and is not a big fan yet. I know things might change rapidly but Im proud nevertheless.

Shes a total party girl. She loves to drop Ashu at school and then pick her up. Loves when Ashu has friends over. Loves when we go to a friends place. Loves to accompany us to the swimming pool for Ashu's class. Can name every one of Ashu's friends and their siblings to boot!

She has a special bond with men. Her dad, her uncle, her grandpa, friends son, a friends husband,... are a "leetle" more special than the boring women in her life!

Both Ashu and Antu have always been good sleepers. They give me grey hairs in the food department but if theres one thing I totally escaped from, its sleep deprivation. And thank God for that. Because to be honest I am quite murderous even after 8 hours of sleep! But while Ashu was always rocked to sleep as a baby or by telling a story after story for an hour in the dark until she went to sleep after she turned two, Antu learnt to sleep on her own ever since she turned 7 months old. She even tosses and turns for an hour sometimes before going to sleep and is quite content just lying on the bed. Just like her mom, I guess! ;) The other day at party in a friends place with house full of adults and kids, Antu was nowhere to be seen. I went to their kids bedroom to see Antu on their bed blissfully asleep hugging a stuffed bear while kids were making a ruckus just outside the room. My heart just swelled. Theres something about sleeping kids, I tell you. Especially when they are out like that in a party leaving you to eat the Kuzhi Paniyarams in peace! :)

Well! Well! Well!

YY has indeed arrived in the blog world.

Check out her recent post for some entertainment. I am so amazed by all the coincidence that Im quite speechless.

Let me try to decipher what happened.

1. YY posts her Golu photo in this post which she wrote last year.

2. SG decides to write a Golu post this year and searches for a golu photo in google images.

3. Of the millions of pictures, the one in Page 19 strikes his fancy and he uses it. (Im guessing here!)

So far so good.

4. When the commenters compliment on the Golu, hes quite non committal in the beginning. (Thats the conscience, I guess and one should always, always listen to it!)

5. But when commenter, Anu Bharat praises the Golu, he gracefully accepts the compliments!

Except that they are MY GRANDMOTHER and MOTHERs bommais!! (ok, ok. I got a little carried away too. "Our". Not "My". And now my sister's.)

6. A few days later, he participates in Paruls By the Watercooler contest.

7. A week later, Parul announces the winners and SG is one of the five winners. Parul links his blog.

8. YY reads that post and follows the link to SG's blog. (What are the odds, huh?)

9. And she randomly checks the archives only to see her own Golu photo staring back at her. (Again, what are the odds?)

Im shocked at all these coincidences. A Bay area resident writes about Bay area Navarathri complaining mostly about the food (on how theres no "originality"!) only to copy and use another Bay area residents Navarathri Golu photo (unknowingly, I hope!) and then not clarifying that its neither his picture nor his Golu.

Im so fascinated by this Butterfly Effect that Im neither angry nor upset about this theft. Just intrigued. :)